Once upon a punk...

Speaking of whom, this note from Gus, one of the original Westie Punks:

I read where Mike Smith from the Dave Clark Five died recently. I always felt that he, Elvis, and Jackie Wilson had the best male singing voices in rock music (if you want to include Wilson in 'rock'). DC5 wasn't the most original band, but they did have some driving 1 minute and 57 second songs in their day. Whether they belong in the RnR Hall of Fame is for others to discuss. I liked them back in '63 - '65. The big questions are: Are they 'real' Yankees? What's the big deal with the rumor of Denis Paxton (sax) taking 'performance' enhancing drugs; weren't steroids and HGH legal in the early sixties? westies #1

Johnnykmusic>>> If you are unfamiliar with the Westie Punks, here is CyberMusicGuide's History of pop icons: Westie Punks

Finally, the cuts previously only whispered about in San Francisco bath houses and certain New England pro shops, culled from the unequalled collection of the legendary Stonehill College student activist/dorm rep (with a "smooth-as-a-prom queen's thigh" jump shot) Augustus (Gussy) Peverada (other legendary activities which took place in Gussy's dorm room were outside the scope of this project). Rising from the sleazy beaches, pool halls and roller coasters of West Haven, CT, Westie Punks soared to the top of the pop scene in 1967 with their debut album, The Legendary Gussy Tapes, Vol I. They followed quickly with All Youse Need Is Freakin' Love and finally the classic Coupla Dogs at Jimmie's (live at Savin Rock, 7/4/69) before disappearing into the disco-funk scene of the late seventies. But, despite their brief time in the limelight, their legend , curiously, continues to grow as the years pass - cult heroes to a whole generation. Why? No one with any musical taste has been able to answer that, but it seems that, to many, The Punks were shitheads, and they were Westie shitheads.

The band's latest album, You Can't Take the Punk Outta Westie, reunites Gussy Peverada's fizzy melodies with his mates' poppy singalongs to construct a disc overflowing with uber-memorable tunes. With standout tracks like "Who Blew Up Da Rock?," and "Still Not Quite Bristol" dominating radio airwaves far and wide, Westie Punks is an essential addition to any music lover's library. - bumbershoot band-bio-generator